Sorry...my last post was not readable.
The Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio's "silence" on the issue of donor milk research has not been intentional, as I have been busy providing donor milk from established milk banks to babies who need it and completing the administrative tasks required to get our milk bank up and running, and have gotten behind in my Lactnet reading and participation.
Re: your concerns-- the Mother's Milk Bank of Ohio distributes milk to babies whose own mothers cannot nurse them in the hopes of promoting breastfeeding, educating the community about the dangers of artificial feeding, and eliminating the use of formula. Not only do I not have a collaborative relationship with formula companies, I rejected their offer to provide funding. I have no intention of being involved in research that leads to the engineering and/or patenting of breastmilk components. These research concerns were addressed at the last HMBANA meeting, at which representatives of the existing milk banks discussed the importance of discerning which research efforts can and cannot be supported given our goal of supporting breastfeeding families and promoting human milk. We are very committed to avoiding any involvement which would undermine breastfeeding or the use of donor milk. Very little milk is used for research and never prior to meeting the needs of identified recipients.
I personally contacted the MMB of Austin and was told that the Dannon "sponsorship" was actually a contribution made through a corporate "matching" program in response to an employee's one-time small donation to the milk bank. I was informed that there was no ongoing financial relationship between the MMBA and Dannon, and that they are not collaborating on research or any other pursuits.
Milk banking and the provision of milk to babies in need is largely dependent upon support from the lactation community. The viability of milk banking rests with us
Without the Ohio Lactation Consultant Association (OLCA), there would be no Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio. The Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio was launched with funding from OLCA and its use in 5 area hospitals is directly related to the support of lactation consultants in those hospitals. It is Lactation Consultants who must first approach hospital management and then persuade the healthcare team including the epidemiology and legal department of the need for a donor milk policy. This must be accompished in an atmosphere of general reluctance among healthcare professionals
to accept that there are risks associatied with not providing mom's own milk.
OLCA's support has continued with an invitation to Nancy Wight to speak at our February conference with one of her presentations being donor milk banking. OLCA went a step further by changing our usual conference date to accommodate Nancy's schedule as well as facilitate her presenting at Columbus Childrens' Hospital Grand Rounds as well as the Central Ohio Pediatric Society meeting. It is collaboration such as this that allows exposure to an audience that would not normally attend a breastfeeding presentation. I cannot emphasize enough the value of our working together.
I was initially hesitant to move forward with the development of a milk bank in our community given the need to increase breastfeeding promotion and support in many other areas;however, I soon learned that to address the issue of donor milk useage, healthcare professionals in particular neonatologists and pediatricians, were required to look at the risks associated with not providing human milk. I anticipate future improvement in breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in our community as the direct result of donor milk availability.
I welcome your monitoring...please know that I would never knowingly participate in any situation that would undermine breastfeeding. I know that the other members of the Human Milk Bank Association of North America hold the same view.
If at any time one of you questions the Mothers' Milk Bank's involvement, please call me directly.
Georgia Morrow, RN,IBCLC
Mothers' Milk Bank of Ohio
Grant Medical Center @
Victorian Village Health Center
1087 Dennison Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43201
Office 614.544.5906
Fax: 614.544.5907
Member of HMBANA - The Human Milk Banking Association of North America: The professional organization
representing donor human milk banks in the United States , Canada and Mexico .
"Setting the standard for donor human milk banking"
Save the Date - "Human Milk Banking: A Global Perspective on Best Practices" Conference,
Washington DC , October 17-18, 2005 - For more information go to www.hmbana.org
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